Garden mix room near Nottingham, UK

#31

Hi all

Another busy few days - my partner and I managed to get the vapour barrier, insulation and second layer of OSB on the roof. I caulked all the gaps between the first layer of OSB before this. I used some expensive long screws to go through the whole roof into the joists to hold it all together. Getting the EPDM rubber up on to the roof required us phoning her dad for extra help as it was so very heavy - we nearly didn’t manage. It’s just placed on the roof for now whilst we await warmer weather to glue it down.

We managed to get the rest of the OSB sheathing on the walls on New Year’s Eve. I went for two layers in the end and although I haven’t caulked the expansion gaps the overlaps are all aligned with upright studs.

The next jobs are fiddly: I need to cut and install squares of OSB to put in the gaps between the ceiling joists above the walls and add some brackets to hold the joists to the walls better.

I will then be caulking the perimeter of the inside of the stud bays before adding insulation, and my Ryobi cordless caulking gun has arrived to make this job easier!

Happy new year everyone.

#32

Greetings Gareth,

A happy new year to you too! Thanks for posting the pictures. Very nice progress indeed.

EPDM is incredibly heavy: we used it for lining a small water feature in our garden. I can't imagine lifting a small roof's-worth. Ugh.

Yes, the cordless caulking gun is surely a hand saver. We are well along with my wife's art studio build and have used ours quite a bit (just to try it (not much caulk needed for this), although it will surely get a workout when I do my build in the spring.

I used some expensive long screws to go through the whole roof into the joists to hold it all together.

Cue the Big Bad Wolf.

All the best,

Paul

#33

Thanks for the comments Paul. It’a certainly gone up quicker than I’d hoped, so far...

Question: does anyone on here know about UK regulations for wiring? As I’m building inside out walls I will be running the wiring on the inside side of the plasterboard, attached to the studs. I assume I need to use the round plastic conduit to protect the cable? I also realise this means the circuits might be downgraded current wise due to the cabling being surrounded on two sides by insulation.

Any help gratefully received, before I bother my family friend electrician once again!!

Cheers
Gareth

#34

Day 37.

Having had a few days off the build and also going back to work, I did a bunch of small jobs today.

The holes between the joists needed capping in some way, so at the back of the building I decided to do this on the outside by adding OSB to the underside and ends of the joists, as soffits and fascia boards. No one will see this bit so there’s no point fitting a pretty UPVC fascia.
I did one layer of OSB today and caulked the gaps, and will add a second tomorrow.

At the front, because there will be a pretty fascia, I am cutting rectangles of OSB to fit between the joists. I tried this in two of the gaps today and decided friction fit with caulk between the two layers would be the best solution. It seemed to work well. I realise I’ve not left an expansion gap here but I hope for such a small piece of OSB it won’t matter.

I’ve also borrowed a friend’s space heater to dry the place out, having already removed around 300 litres of water off the top of the slab!

Finally I had a go with the new cordless caulking tool on some of the stud bays. What a nightmare this turned into! The first tube of sealant somehow spat some of its contents out the back so the tool got covered. I had to spent half an hour trying to clean it up with a thin piece of wood and many pieces of paper towel. Not impressed!!

More tomorrow.

#35

There's a saying in the framing profession... "The framing of a house should look so good that you don't want to cover it up with drywall". Your framing looks spectacular! You're off to a great start, as having a properly framed structure makes EVERYTHING else after so much easier.

Finally I had a go with the new cordless caulking tool on some of the stud bays. What a nightmare this turned into! The first tube of sealant somehow spat some of its contents out the back so the tool got covered. I had to spent half an hour trying to clean it up with a thin piece of wood and many pieces of paper towel. Not impressed!!

Ugghh, I've had that happen as well, but in my experience it was a faulty caulking tube, and while it was a giant pain in the ass to clean up, it didn't have anything to do with the caulking gun itself. So hopefully you just had a bad tube and you won't have to worry about that again.

#36

Thanks very much!! Using a piece of wood cut to the size of the stud gap as a jig made it very quick to assemble, and the nail gun certainly speeds things up!

Yeah I hope it was the tube of sealant. I should have known really as as I was using it the tube distorted a bit. Oh well, the stuff I’ve just ordered is in plastic casings rather than this which was cardboard. Hopefully will be fine.

Thanks

#37

Greetings Gareth,

Question: does anyone on here know about UK regulations for wiring?

Hopefully Starlight will see this question and can answer it.

All the best,

Paul

#38

SoWhat wrote:Source of the postHopefully Starlight will see this question and can answer it.

I am following Gareth's build and I did see the question but I did not reply as I don't know the current legal requirements.

garethmetcalf wrote:Source of the postAny help gratefully received, before I bother my family friend electrician once again!

He sounds like an electrician worth his weight in wine or chocolate to keep on his good side!

#39

I am following Gareth's build and I did see the question but I did not reply as I don't know the current legal requirements.

Understood.

wine or chocolate

Why not both? Many Reds and chocolate are great together!

#40

Day 38.
I managed two thirds of a day today as I had to help my partner’s 9 year old with some of his school work. The joys of a lockdown!

Today I made a temporary door and window, and then did the slow job of cutting and installing two layers of OSB to fill each gap between the joists at the front. These have been hammered into place and caulked. Even without screws they are not going anywhere!!

I wrapped the building with Tyvek and then overlapped the vapour barrier from the roof deck at the back (as advised by our family friend architect who has helped with the design).

Insulation arriving Monday so I have the weekend to get the stud bays caulked (if my new caulk arrives) and the few cables to outside (lights at front, power and data in) routed.

I think the problem I had yesterday with the caulk coming out the back of the tube was because it’s too cold here - about 0 degrees Celsius today, and therefore the caulk is stiff! To get around this today I used the manual caulking gun and kept putting it on a radiator in the house to warm up!

Hopefully next week I’ll be getting back to bigger jobs like framing the inside walls.

Anyway, the most exciting thing that happens today was I ordered two sets of studio monitors to trial and choose between from SX Pro Audio. Arriving Tuesday are demo pairs of the Neumann KH310 and the Focal Twin Be!!!

#41

The building part does indeed give great encouragement as so much visible progress can be seen to go so quickly. Well done, Gareth.

It will feel real nice when the exterior is finished and you know that all the rest will be done indoors, whatever the weather or temperature.

Keep up the good reporting and photos.

#42

It will! I can’t wait to be able to work inside the insulated frame, and hopefully therefore make a bit less noise for my neighbours.

Unfortunately due to the pandemic my door and window have a long lead time, so I may have to make more substantial temporary ones.

Thanks for the encouragement

Cheers
Gareth

#43

Greetings Gareth,

Unfortunately due to the pandemic my door and window have a long lead time

I hear ya. We are working on my wife's art studio, and the while the doors are within a normal range the windows are FIVE weeks out!

On the upside, the money stays in our bank account longer...

All the best,

Paul

#44

Day 39. More bits.

Paul - I wish the money for my door and window was still in my bank account! No such luck. As many others have experienced money is flying out left right and centre. It’s amazing how many £20 and £30 purchases are needed as well as all the big stuff. Oh well, we’re in it now!

Today I finished the second layer of OSB around the rear soffit and fascia and had the first nail gun problem - I managed to put two nails through my EPDM roof rubber!! Idiot. I ‘think’ I have enough spare to be able to trim off the two holes I’ve made as luckily they’re close to one corner. Thankfully I haven’t yet glued this stuff down.

I wrapped the end of the exhaust silencer in DPC in order to protect it from the elements, and that’s now ready for the fan to be installed on to.

I routed power cables for the lights that will be on the outside, an outside power socket (just in case!) and the power cable for the fan. I also got the armoured power cable in and discovered to my dismay it’s not long enough to get to where I wanted the distribution board, which was to the left of the door looking from the outside. It’s now going to have to be to the right of the door.

I’m now going to have to figure out hiding the distribution board amongst the rear corner treatment. Grrrr.

Finally, my electrician family friend replied to my text query about the power cabling. He said they do not need to be in conduit, clipped to the framing is fine. At least that’s a few pounds not spent.

I guess you have good days and bad days!

Gareth

#45

That is looking like first class work, Gareth. Keep it up!

I am sorry to hear about the short armoured cable and nails through the EPDM. As you say (and I can also prove):

garethmetcalf wrote:Source of the postI guess you have good days and bad days!

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